Truck Dealers

[louixo]

To me, truck salesman are like car salesman and have the same reputation anymore. My distrust began with my very first truck buy over 20 years ago. I bought a used K100 Kenworth cabover. I had a problem with it, just after I bought it, too detailed to go into here. I went back and asked if they would take care of the problem as I was barely out the door, with the truck. The salesman said he couldn`t honor my request. They already had my money. I had to go over his head to the dealership owner, just to take care of a serious problem, that should not have been there in the first place. Since then, my wariness when buying vehicles has never changed. Salesman at dealerships make me suspicious . For example I look at the truck ads and I never understand the ads that say "call for price". My immediate reaction is, if I have to call to see how much it costs, I`m going to get taken, so I don`t even consider those vehicles. Today I got an ad from a dealer selling new expediters. These units are over $100,000. The hype says they MUST GO, so they are dropping the price a whopping $2000. WOW! The economy is bad all over. I don`t know anyone buying $100,000 expediter units these days. Most guys I know are putting off equipment upgrades to stay in the game. I think the dealers like the corporations need to get into some of their profit in this economy and do something real for the buyers that have been keeping them in business all these years, if they want to sell trucks, and stop the hype.

 

[Wingnut]

I know how you feel. Like you, I was taken in by a smooth talking dealer & got a royal screwing on a new expediter truck. Like you, it made me wary & distrustful of all dealers BUT I ended up finding a dealer who earned my trust & now, I will only buy my trucks thru him.
I put this poor guy thru the wringer when I bought my first truck from him (since then, I've bought 6 more). Everything he said to me about warranty & which parts were or weren't covered, I made him prove to me in writing. Everything he promised me that was going to be on the truck (air ride seat, 150 gal tank, etc), I made him put into writing. Any problems that I've had with any of my trucks, he went out of his way to take care of them. I can't say enough good things about this dealer.
There are good dealers & salesmen out there, just like there are good owners & drivers. Sometimes it's hard to find them but they do exist. Let me know if you want the name & contact info for the dealer that I go to. Good luck and keep your chin up!

 

[Suds43]

Sounds like truck dealers and company recruiters all come from the same litter, come to think of it, alot of dispatchers too!!!
There must be a top secret training center for those people!!

 

[Texpress]

Sounds like truck dealers and company recruiters all come from the same litter, come to think of it, alot of dispatchers too!!!
There must be a top secret training center for those people!!

Ain't that the truth. Always wondered how they sleep at night.. or if they sleep?

 

[hondaking38]

there both in the selling business...there isnt much difference...they have to paint a rosie picture...

 

[dhalltoyo]

Recently, I set out to acquire several price quotes.

5 dealers came back at $78-79,000, but one came back at $56,875.

Initially, I thought it had to be a mistake. Possibly they had missed some of the options requested.

Erring on the side of caution, I had attorney review the documents; he verified the price quote was valid and correct.

One of the dealers who was in the $78-79,000 range wasted 25 minutes of my time trying to tell me (no actually arrogantly insisting) that the dealer could not sell his truck for that price.

Wrong! He can and he did...

Now I can pass out business cards for a dealer that is willing to work with the customer. As for "Mister Know-It-All Truck Center" I work very hard to steer folks away from that dealership. What a jerk!

 

[Lawrence]

To me, truck salesman are like car salesman and have the same reputation anymore.

That is a pretty broad statement. That is like saying "people who drive commercial trucks are reckless, careless and a danger to the public on the highways".

Why would someone have that opinion?

- They were cut off by a careless driver
- They saw it on the evening news
- They saw it the headlines

All evidence that SOME drivers are reckless - but not all. So I think it is unfair to label all truck dealers as untrustworthy.

The dealer you referenced is one I know very well. Probably the most trustworthy of all dealers. As far as digging into ones profit. I can 100% that all profit has all but evaporated from truck sales.

Just my opinion.

 

[louixo]

The key words in my statement are "to me", and I"m only expressing MY feelings with MY experience. I stand by the statement, as I have not met a car salesman or a truck salesman that had my interests at heart, so to put forth a comparison about truck drivers, and broad statement, I dont see the analogy. I find it hard to believe that any dealership anywhere is operating with evaporated profits. They have so many factory and financing wiggle room in any dealership, that they can easily compensate for a volume downturn, as in the price cuts at so many car dealerships with the models they cant move. "Sticker price", and "manufacturers suggested retail price" are marketing tools that can be negotiated FROM until you and the seller dealer at an agreeable price. There"s alot of room and profit, and factory incentives, factory kickbacks etc. in those figures, and if anyone believes vehicles are being sold to break even or at a loss, that"s just naive.

 

[Lawrence]

Not to argue...but today...late 2008 & 2009 most commercial truck sales are done at at loss, why is that hard to believe?

They are not any different than the person who just sold their home at a 5-25% loss. It's happening everywhere.

Dealership are looking to their service departments to keep the lights on. That is the reality...at least for this year and maybe into 2010. Soon as freight picks up again...like any business profitability will return.

 

[highway star]

I bought my truck from one of EOs advertisers. I experienced an ongoing problem with the box leaking in the front corners. The day before I was taking it in for the 4th, yes 4th, time, I called my salesman to let him know what was going on and ask if he'd give them a call to go to bat for me to get the problem resolved. It seemed like a reasonable request, being it's their vendor. He refused. He said it was between me and them. Anyone wanna guess where I won't be buying my next truck?

 

[louixo]

Its not hard to believe that SOME, but not MOST commercial truck sales are done at a loss in recent times. Comparing it to somebody that sells their home at a loss, is not a comparison in my view. The homeowner only has ONE home, and can"t adjust costs across his inventory to gain profit. A dealer can. It"s no different than a car dealer who takes a hit on a gas guzzler these days. The dealer may take a PAPER LOSS on a hard to move unit, for various reasons, but will make it up with profits on the units that are selling, not to mention what the manufacturer and finance arm, will do for the dealer to help move inventory. At the end of the year, you won"t see a truck dealer"s balance sheet showing red ink. Far from it. The dealers repair facility is part of his balance sheet, and will contribute to the end result. When I go to buy a vehicle, the salesman is not interested to see my balance sheet, hear about slow freight, or how cold it is outside. All he wants to do is sell me a unit, finance it to make money on that end, and tie up a warranty cost that brings me back into the system for regular cash extractions. I again stand by my original statement, concerning reputation, and hype. Not an argument, just a point of view.

 

[davekc]

I think (or hope) that it does bring some better service back to some brands. We stopped buying a certain brand because of poor service. Hopefully the days of getting a simple service proceedure that takes a week will be a thing of the past.
I don't think we are quite there yet.
As far as vehicle buying, being educated as much as possible to the costs of a specialty vehicle is your best defense.
As long as I have been doing this, I have negotiated very little on price. I throw my number out there and they say yes or no.
But...........I don't get taken advantage.
I have walked away from a sale on more than one occassion as I am sure many have.

 

[cheri1122]

It never ceases to amaze me, how much most dealerships will spend on advertising that only alienates potential customers ("Call for price!" Yeah, sure - hold your breath till I do, ok?) and how little they're willing to spend on good word of mouth advertising, instead.

 

[Poorboy]

I remember when I bought my "D" Truck from a well known dealer and during that purchase I also Bought an Extended Warranty. A few years down the road I had a Transmission blow apart so I got it to a Dealership in Lexington Kentucky where I was told that it would cost me Around $6500.00 to have a Re-built one put in. I called this Particular dealer who I had bought the truck as well as the Extended Warranty from and was told that The Salesman Did Not Put into the Purchase agreement and the Computer that this Warranty actually existed. So Guess what?? Does Screwed Ring a Bell? Luckily for me, My wife had contacted Eaton and they agreed to send me a Brand New Transmission Free If I would Pay the Shipping, which I did and Finally After 2 weeks in a Motel I was Back on the road. I'm not going to say which dealer it was Unless you Send me a PM, But The Salesman Is Now The General Manager. Needlerss to say, I will Never give that Company amy of my business again..

 

[pjjjjj]

Those stories are just awful. During these slower times, if you were in the area of the ones that screwed you, it'd be cool to go in and have a big look around, tellem you're spec'ing out a truck, gettem all excited, ya know? Then thank them for their info and let them know that while the specs sound great, you'll actually be buying it elsewhere, as you'd never be able to buy from them, and briefly relate why.
All those paybacks now that things are slower, are coming home to roost for all aspects of the industry.

 

[layoutshooter]

I can tell you one thing for sure, I will not buy a new or used truck from the dealer I bought this one from. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I learned my lesson. Layoutshooter

 

[Humble2drive]

"Call for price!" Yeah, sure - hold your breath till I do, ok?)

One can only hope that some of the sales and marketing people from these dealerships are smart enough to read forums like this to see what drivers are thinking and planning.

It would be nice for them to finally get it, that the old "call for price" ploy actually causes people to look elsewhere.

This tactic is intended to force an interested party to call in to the dealership. The receptionist is prohibited from giving out the price and is required to put the call through to the next salesperson in line. It then turns into a reverse telemarketing call that you walked right in to. You must listen to a slick sales speal before you can eventually pry the price information out of them.

Unfortunately, I was trained in this tactic and many others when I was studying sales and marketing. I just don't have the stomach for treating people like they are idiots, but it is good to know what the opponent is up to.

SO LISTEN UP, SALES GENIUSES!

There. I'm done and I feel better.

 

[layoutshooter]

I feel better too, thanks for writing it. LOL Layoutshooter

 

[pjjjjj]

With all due respect to the owners of this wonderful site, I think it's awful that people aren't free to name names about where they got shafted, so mistakes aren't repeated.
To me, that's the whole purpose of having a venue where people can share stories and info, vent and give tips.. it seems to be a conflict that the advertisers could happen to also be the ones being vented about.
Sure it's a great venue for them to reach hundreds of potential customers all in one place, probably for relatively cheap.. but on the other end, does that excuse shoddy business practices and allow them to continue without a word?
Maybe it'd be a great idea to obtain different types of advertisers such as fuel brands, truck stops, food manufacturers, slushbusters, handtrucks, or whatever, since generally they're probably going to be bashed a lot less than a carrier or a truck dealer.
If a place pays money to advertise on a site, it shouldn't come with an expectation or promise of being untouched in the event they're actually screwing people in our industry. Kinda like a newspaper.. there's the advertising department, and there's the editorial department.. and with any integrity, the editorial dept isn't allowed to be bought by the advertisers, no matter how much the advertising reps would prefer that.
Whether a carrier or a truck dealer pays money to advertise here or not, should not have a bearing on what is said about them, from one expediter to another. If they don't want to be 'dissed', they can pull their socks up and change their reputation.

 

[layoutshooter]

I guess that I would not mention names because maybe I was the only one screwed. ( I doubt it though). Thing is that EVERY dealer will get bashed by someone some time. It only takes one bad thing for someone to get PO'd. I wish there was a vehicle other than the BBB for finding out about problems/complaints about dealers. I have no doubt that there are a couple that are sleezy most or all of the time. Layoutshooter